News

NPA speaks out over sustainable antibiotic use claims

08 February 2018

NPA chief executive, Zoe Davies, spoke out publicly against Lord Jim O’Neill after he claimed the NPA was discouraging reduced antibiotic use within the pig sector.

The discussion erupted at a Global Superbugs event, when Lord O’Neill claimed that the NPA did not believe the use of antibiotics in livestock was contributing to antibiotic-resistance and that they were actively discouraging the reduced use of antibiotics in pig production.

Dr Zoe Davies responded to Lord O’Neill’s claims at the event, stating that the NPA has been heavily involved in the Antibiotic Stewardship Programme campaign to reduce agriculture’s impacts in antibiotic-resistance, and that great progress had already been made in doing so.

With a target of antibiotic use reduction of 62% by 2020, Dr Davies acknowledged that there was much work still to be done but highlighted the fact that overall antibiotic use in the UK reduced by 34% between 2015 and 2016, and the use of critically important antibiotics reduced by 73%.

Dr Davies encouraged people to learn more about the work being done to reach the antibiotic usage targets for 2020 and understand the benefits that reduced antibiotic use will have for both human and animal health in the future.

To learn more about the antibiotic usage targets in the UK, click here